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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. game — wild animals
  3. stock — goods
  4. rest — what's left
  5. stock — shares
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. rest — what's left
  8. chip — to eat
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. kid — child
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. game — a match
  16. chip — for betting
  17. foot — a measure
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. rest — a break
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. rule — government
  23. kid — to tease
  24. straw — a straw man

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com